Since the Pope has decided that children who die before they are christened don't go to hell, does that mean

Question

that Christians, or more exact Catholics don't believe you are born into original sin? This isn't a smart alec question, I am truly curious.

Answer 1

I want to clear something up for some of the people here who don't understand how the Catholic Church works and are making assumptions about what popes can and can't do.

Benedict did not decide this issue himself. Rather, he is commenting on an issue that has been studied since the time of Christ and one which we don't have all the answers for since Christ did not reveal them to the Church.

The Catholic Church does not have an official teaching about what happens to unbaptized children (check the catechism for proof of this). Many theologians have theorized they might go to a place apart from Heaven or Hell....a sort of limbo where they are content but denied the beautific vision of Heaven.

This is just our best guess. It's NOT a Catholic dogma. The faithful have always been encouraged to simply pray for the unbaptized and trust in God's mercy.

What IS a Catholic dogma is that to enter Heaven one must be baptized either by water and the spirit, or by alternate means such as "baptism of blood" (martyrdom) or "baptism of desire" (the ardent wish to be saved but for some reason baptism is impossible).

And yes, Catholics do believe in original sin. But unbaptized babies have not committed any "actual" sins (they haven't consciensly chosen to do wrong). That's why they probably don't go to Hell.

Answer 2

The Pope is not God, or in place of God, but life begins at the first breath is where the soul is created. So abortion actually does not give a free pass to heaven until a child takes a breath. To say mankind is without origional sin is to deny the truth of the Bible. No the Pope is only stating a fact that has always been true. The truth is there has always been an age of accountablity, from birth until God calls you to himself is the free pass and no words can make otherwise true. Some people never reach an age of accountablity and other recieve this at a very early age. How can a Law condemn a person that has never heard of the truth. you are judged by how you acted to what truth you have. You can see this very clearly with Cain and Able. Both loved God and were called by God to make sacrifice and both did what they thought was right. Also it is very important to note their age was not said. But this age must be reached before you can be condemned, so therefore many children do go to heaven not because the Pope says so but because the Bible teaches so.

Answer 3

It depends on what type of Catholic we're talking about. Roman, Anglican, Some Catholics do believe in original sin. Some don't to the point that infants would go to hell. Christians aren't necessarily Catholics, and vice versa. They can't be lumped together. The Bible is a guideline to what Christians believe. Unfortunately, most of our differences in opinion stem from ignorance of that same Bible and what it says. Most knowledgeable Christians believe that if a person has not had the chance to reach the "age of accountability", which is the age where you're old enough to understand the message of the gospel and make a choice, they are not condemned. God is a God of justice. But He also is a God of mercy and grace.

Answer 4

Actually, the Pope decided that they do not go to "limbo", which is neither heaven or hell, but a place just outside heaven that is not a place of torment. In the statement he reaffirmed the idea of "original sin", but said that there was hope that unbaptized babies may have entry into heaven. But he did not say "they go to heaven".

"Limbo" is an idea that has been on the edge of Catholic theology for a long time. It appears in Dante's Divine Comedy, Milton's Paradise Lost and other such influencial works. But has NEVER been an official doctrine of the church.

The Pope's statement does not "get rid" of Limbo, rather it answers the question that theologians have debated for the last few humdred years - is there a Limbo? The church finally took an official stand and the answer is "no".

So technically, the church has not changed its doctrines. But it has official rejected an idea that has been commonly held and popular for several centuries - but never official endorsed by the church.

The Catholic church still has not taken an official stand on whether unbaptized babies go to heaven or hell. They have just decided that they do not go to a third place called limbo.

(I am not Catholic, and am not agreeing or disagreeing with statement - just explaining what it said)

Answer 5

Well first of all, the pope has no authority to decide anything, only God does. What I believe is that God is Just. We are all born into sin, but up until a certain point, we don't really have an awareness of all this stuff. I don't believe that a Just God would send babies to hell when they have no clue about Him or His law.

I recall the specific time in my life when I became aware of my sin. I was 11 and I was doing something that I knew I wasn't supposed to, but I had done it for years and it never bothered me. Then this one time, it just all hit me and I felt so bad about it I stopped. It seemed to happen about the same time as puberty for me. I have no basis for this other than my own opinion. I think that we are innocent until that time when we become aware of our sin. The Jewish bar mitzvahs are an acknowlegment of this age of accountablity concept I think. I don't agree that everyone hits it at the same age, but somewhere in the vicinity.

Answer 6

We are all born sinners, though there is an age of accountability, which is different for everyone, when you realize the difference between right and wrong. If a child dies before they reach the age accountability, they are not held accountable for their actions. I personally do not believe it has anything to do with being christened or baptized. Being baptized is just a outward action to let others know of your new life of accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. One of the thieves on the cross died without being baptized and the Lord told him that He would see him in paradise that same day.

Answer 7

Hebrews 9:27
Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.

There is no limbo or purgatory. There is absolutely no scriptural backing for this erroneous doctrine. There are a few more areas of catholic dogma that could be cleaned up to insure the survival of the church but I'm not hopeful. Original Sin is not meant to convey that we are born dirty, it should be taken to mean that when we are born and as we mature, we all have the capacity to behave in ways displeasing to God. Nothing more, nothing less. God Bless!

Answer 8

Some people claim that I, too, am going to hell. Meanwhile, I sleep very sound. I have no worries.

Whoever is up there is fair. No proof, just a conviction I have. The concept of a loving entity throwing me in FIRE was invented by the same humans who threw other humans into FIRE when they disagreed with their church. What a coincidence. Fire and fire.

If they were so sure God would do it, why did they have to take it upon themselves? The fire punishment, I mean.

Answer 9

First you have to question the idea of being "Christened" or more correctly, Baptized as being Scriptural when practiced on and infant. Only then will you be able to understand if the Catholic Church stands on the side of what the Scriptures teach or what the so-called "ecclesiastical law" practiced by the Church validates.

Answer 10

infants and extremely young children do not know how to ask Jesus to be their Savior. We are born with sin- however because of God's infinite mercy and grace , He could not send infants and very young children to hell, because they cannot make the decision to accept Him- unlike older children, teens , adults. Does that help?